Transcript The Cold War: Domino Theory

The Cold War: Domino Theory and
Containment
Korea, Vietnam
Cuba, Central America
Middle East
Terms to Know: The Arms Race
Brinkmanship:
US needed to act as
though we are willing to
go to war.
Had to go to the “brink”
the verge of war without
slipping into it.
Arms Race in the Sky
ICBMs
Long range rockets
loaded with nuclear
weapons
Sputnik
The rocket that carried
the first satellite into
space could also carry a
nuclear weapon to space.
Arms Race in the Sky
U2 – high altitude planes
that flew over territory
and took pictures.
15 miles in the air.
U2 Incident: 1960
Russia was able to shoot
down a U2
The Domino Theory: Asia
1949: Communists take
over China.
Most populated country in
the world had gone
Communist.
Led by Mao Zedong
Korea
After WWII Korea was
divided at the 38th
Parallel.
North – Russian
controlled
South – US Controlled
1948 – occupying forces
withdrew.
Korean War
Both sides wanted
reunification – but under
whose rule?
1950 – North Korea
army poured across 38th
Parallel to force
reunification.
Korean War
US thought it was all
orchestrated by the
Communists.
Had to make a stand
against the Communist
North Koreans.
Korean War: UN Military Action
16 nations – including
the US – came to defend
South Korea from North
Korea.
80% of troops were
American.
Waging the Korean War
General Douglas
MacArthur led the
offense against North
Korea
Backed by Soviet and
Chinese weapons and
soldiers.
MacArthur goes too far
To push the North
Koreans back behind the
38th Parallel, destroy the
Communists in North
Korea, or attack China?
MacArthur wanted the
second front in China.
MacArthur goes too far
President Truman said NO to
invading China.
MacArthur tried to go behind
the Commander in Chief’s
back (Truman) and get
Congressional support.
Truman FIRED MacArthur for
insubordination.
1951.
Korean War
Truman spent his
presidency keeping the
war contained to Korea.
President Eisenhower
used the threat of a
nuclear attack to get the
North Koreans to return
behind the 38th Parallel.
Effects of the Korean War
34,000 Americans dead
in three years (1950 –
1953)
Containment had worked
But North Korea was and
still is Communist.
The
th
38
Parallel in 2005
Most US troops are
stationed there.
Will Kim Jong Il force a
reunification under a
Communist dictatorship
with a nuclear threat?
Has six bombs and
perfecting missile
delivery.
The Domino Theory: Vietnam
1954 - 1975
2000 years Vietnam has
resisted being absorbed
into China.
1800s Vietnam became
a colony for France.
WWII:
Fought for independence
from Japan
Ho Chi Minh
Communist Vietnamese.
Fought for independence
before, during and after
WII.
Leader of a group called
the VIETMINH.
Defeated the French in
1954.
1954 Peace Treaty over Vietnam
Divided Vietnam.
North Vietnam –
Communist under Ho Chi
Minh
South Vietnam –
Supposed to be capitalist
and democratic.
SUPPOSED TO BE
South Vietnam
President Diem
Called himself
“president”
Said he was pro-USA
Brutally put down any
opponents.
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Pro-Catholic in a mostly
Buddhist country.
Corruption to make his
family rich.
Remember that the CIA used to be
able to do political assassination?
That’s what happened to
President Diem!
CIA authorized and said
the US would not object
to Diem’s overthrow.
Gee – Diem ended up
dead trying to flee.
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November 1963
US Players in Vietnam
President Eisenhower
Military advisors for South
Vietnamese.
President Kennedy
Sent troops to keep North
Vietnam contained.
President Johnson
“I’m not going to be the
president who saw Southeast
Asia go the way China went.”
US Players in Vietnam
Robert McNamara –
Secretary of Defense for
Kennedy and Johnson
Created policies that led
to more US involvement.
Movement away from
nuclear threat to a
“flexible response”
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Finding different ways to
fight a war than nuclear
threat option.
Communist Advances in Vietnam
Diem’s successors were
unpopular and
unsuccessful.
More worried about
power for themselves
than fighting and winning
a war.
The Communist Advances in
Vietnam
VietCong
Communist guerrillas in
South Vietnam
Gained more control of
territory
More popular with the
people.
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Aided by Ho Chi Minh
Expanding Presidential Power to
better run the Vietnam War
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
1964
President Johnson said
the US Navy had been
attacked by the North
Vietnamese.
Congress gave the
president special powers
to “cover everything” to
fight the North
Vietnamese.
Gulf of Tonkin Incident
IT NEVER HAPPENED!
Johnson faked it to get
more power than the
Constitution gave him to
fight the war.
Escalation
3 million soldiers
committed for the rest of
the war.
Johnson Commits to Containment
American Advantages
Superior arms and
supplies
VietCong Advantages
Familiar with the terrain of
jungles and swamps
Found protection across
the border in Laos and
Cambodia
Local population support
Conditions of Viet Nam
Many South Vietnamese
did not welcome US
help.
Keeping an unpopular
government in place.
US troops couldn’t tell
who was the enemy.
The Ground War in Vietnam
VietCong used guerrilla
war tactics.
The Tunnel System used
by the VietCong
Booby traps, land mines,
grenades, trip wires
The Air War in Vietnam
B-52s used
SATURATION
BOMBING on roads,
bridges, civilians.
Fragmentation Bombs
The Air War in Vietnam
Agent Orange
Herbicide meant to
deforest the jungle and
show VietCong hiding
spots.
Killed crops, livestock
and health effects for
humans
The Air War in Vietnam
Napalm
Jellylike substance that
splattered and burned
uncontrollably.
Hawks v. Doves
Hawks: Those who
supported the war
Doves: those who
opposed the war.
Turning Points in Vietnam
The Tet Offensive
Communist brutality
My Lai Massacre
The Tet Offensive
536,000 US troops in
1968
Tet: The Vietnamese
New Year January 30,
1968
Surprise attacks on
major cities and US
troops.
Fighting went for several
weeks.
Communist Brutality in the Tet
Offensive
Communists were brutal
– killing anyone labeled
an enemy.
Teachers
Doctors
Minor officials
3000 – 5000 killed
Massacre at My Lai
America atrocity in
Vietnam
Rumors that the
VietCong were being
hidden in the village of
My Lai
US troops killed 400
Vietnamese
People at Massacre of My Lai
Lieutenant William L.
Calley Jr.
Gave command for the
Massacre.
Helicopter pilot Hugh
Thompson
Political Divisions in Vietnam:
Student Led Protests
SDS: Students for a
Democratic Society
Free Speech Movement
The Teach-In Movement
Draft Resistence
Draft Resistance or Draft Dodger
Draft for those from 18 –
26.
CO: Conscientious
Objector
Other methods to be
found “unsuitable” for
military service
Deferment:
College
Election of 1968
SURPRISE! Johnson
said he would not run for
reelection!
“I shall not seek, and I
will not accept, the
nomination of my party
for another term.”
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Lyndon Johnson
Election of 1968
Republicans – Richard
M. Nixon
American Independents
– George Wallace
Democrats - ?????
The Democratic Convention
Robert Kennedy
assassinated
Eugene McCarthy
Thought too far left
Vice President Hubert
Humphrey
Defended Johnson’s
policies
Humphrey won
The election of 1968
Nixon’s Vietnam Policy
Promised a “secret”
plan to end the war if
elected.
Pulled back on bombing
of North Vietnam and
peace talks in Paris.
1972 – only 24,000
troops remained in South
Vietnam
Nixon’s Vietnam Policy
War spreads to
Cambodia
Secret bombing to get
bargaining advantage in
Paris.
Flush the VietCong out of
hiding places in
Cambodia
Created war in Cambodia
Nixon’s “Silent Majority”
Called for law and order
and less protests by
students.
“My Country Right or
Wrong”
“Love it or Leave it”
Kent State and Jackson State
Kent State, Ohio 1970
Anti-War Protestors
vandalized buildings and
burned down an ROTC
building
Governor ordered
National Guard out to
restore order
Kent State
Someone (National
Guard?) fired on the
protestors.
4 dead
Jackson State, Mississippi
left 2 dead and 11
injured.
Deep Divisions
Attacks horrified
Americans.
But some favored the
president.
100,000 construction
workers marched in NYC
in support of President
Nixon
1973 Paris Peace Agreement ending
US involvement in Vietnam
1. US would withdraw all
forces from South Vietnam in
60 days
All prisoners of war would be
released
N. Vietnam and US would
end end activities in Laos
and Cambodia
17th Parallel would continue
to divide Vietnam in two.
Aftermath of the War
War continued for two
more years after US
withdrawal.
April 29, 1975 US
evacuates last remaining
Americans.
1,000 Americans
6,000 Vietnamese
April 30 – Communists
take over.
Communist Domino Effect
Vietnam fell to the
Communists
Laos fell
Cambodia fell
Atrocities were committed
by the Communists
Legacy of Vietnam: War Powers Act
of 1973
Limits president’s warmaking powers.
If no declaration of war by
Congress it requires the
President to
Notify Congress within 48
hours of committing troops
End combat within 60 days
unless Congress authorized
Congress has power to end
combat at any time.
Legacy of Vietnam:
58,000 Americans dead
300,000 wounded
2,500 POWS (Prisoners
of War) and MIAs
(Missing in Action)
No “welcome home”
parades or treatment as
heroes.
Legacy of Vietnam: Costs of the War
$150 billion dollars
Inflation / deficit
Vietnamese diplomatic
exchange in 1995
Landscape of Vietnam
still troubled by war.
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Landmines
Agent Orange after effects
on health
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial
1982: Created by Maya
Lin.